Interview: Marwa of Everlasting Blaze

Everlasting Blaze is an Italian rock/metal trio based in Genoa. Both Marwa and Sadem grew up in Tunisia and have a background in mechanical engineering. Disenchanted with the university system, they quit school and made a choice to focus on music full-time. Everlasting Blaze’s songs are based on themes of freedom, self-expression, and perseverance. Their message to their fans is “to be yourselves and follow your dreams.” Through their music, they hope to spread the message that now is the time to take action, that in order to change the world, you must change the way you work. Everlasting Blaze will be touring the US and Europe soon.

Your self-titled, debut album Everlasting Blaze came out about half a year ago. What have been the biggest opportunities that have come since the album release?

Finishing our album was a satisfaction by itself; we started everything at a time when all we had in mind was to write the best melodies and songs we could. Then we recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered the entire album, which was a great moment for us. We also had another great thing happen: we signed with Music Gallery International and Shawn Barusch. We’re preparing for many big things to happen this year.

Recording an album can bring out the worst in a band. What were the biggest challenges that the band faced while trying to get this album out?

We are always very positive and excited about what we do. We always want to reach more people through our band, and let the world hear and see what we’ve got and what we can do. I think that was the only challenge we had. Other than that, everything was fun!

If budgets weren’t an issue, what are some elements that you would like to add into your live shows?

What we care about the most is putting out the best show we can, so we’d love to make the stage designs we have in mind. Of course, we’d also get great lighting and everything else that contributes to a live show to create a show that we’ve never even seen before.

How does the band handle the business side of music? Is there one person that takes charge or is it a group effort?

One of the biggest challenges that a band can face in the beginning is the business side of music. We always try to think about these things carefully, but without spending too much time and energy on it so that it doesn’t take us away from writing good music. Most of the time, it’s a group effort.

What does your writing and practice schedule look like? Do you have a set day each week to work everything out, or is it impromptu jam sessions that turn into songs?

Well, we’ve never scheduled any time to write music. It’s something natural that we live with everyday; we might spend only one day writing one a song, and then a month writing another. Sometimes it’s a riff that turns after sometime into an entire song. In contrast, for practising, we’re very organised. We tend to practice almost everyday to prepare for our shows.

What draws you towards a particular aspect of music? Is it the way it makes you feel, the way the lyrics hit, or something else entirely?

I think it’s almost everything in it. When listening to music, we don’t just hear vocals or drums or guitars or anything else, but an entire song that hits us and makes us feel something in a particular way that another song maybe can’t do. So that’s the most important aspect for us, and that’s the reason we love music.

Being in a band creates lots of memorable moments, both good and bad. Is there a moment that stands out more than others that would never have occurred without being in this position?

During this journey, we’ve faced many moments that we sometimes we enjoy and other times don’t. But we try to focus only on music being an art, and being the reason we’re here today and the reason we work hard everyday; we think only about the good in it. I think the most memorable moment for us is something that happened to us almost a year ago, when we first formed the band. We were practising our songs in our rehearsal room, and when we finished and opened the door we found a group of people outside the door that had been listening to us the entire time. They asked us about who we were and told us that they love what we do and that it was great to meet us. That was amazing for us; they were there when no one had ever listened to any of our songs, so it was a great start and very exciting.

You’ve talked in the past about producing your own music. Do you produce any other artists or collaborate musically with anyone?

For the moment, we only produce ourselves. We’d love to work with great producers for our future records, and to produce other artists once we have our own studio.

Do you have side projects outside of the band? How does that affect your time with the band?

Everlasting Blaze is our only project. We believe one should give one hundred percent effort and time to something in order for it to succeed.

Being in a band is like being in a family. What familial roles does everybody in the band play?

Absolutely. We rely on one another; we help each other when we’re going through rough times or experiencing any kind of problems – just like how we party and do crazy things together when we play music.

Is there anything you’re working on right now that you can tell us about?

For the moment, we’re writing new music and preparing for tours. We’d like to hit the road as soon as possible, so there are a ton of things that we’re preparing for at the moment.

Is there anything else you would like to tell everyone?

We want to thank all our fans and each person that believes in us. We can’t wait to see you very soon. We also invite those who don’t know Everlasting Blaze yet to discover the band. Thank you.